Paper products such as napkins, paper towels, or the like are often provided to a customer at fast food establishments or other places where food and/or drinks are served. A napkin is an exemplary paper product and is discussed below. Often, when napkins are provided as part of a “to go” order or at a drive-thru, a server just grabs a random number of napkins and gives the napkins to the customer as part of the customer's order. Such napkins might be loose in a pile or might be stacked in a napkin dispenser.
However, often too many or too few napkins are presented to a customer by a server. Dispensing too many napkins to the customer is a waste of money for the food establishment. Dispensing too few napkins could lead to a customer becoming dissatisfied with the overall service of the establishment.
Accordingly, there is a need for a dispensing system that provides a predetermined number of napkins to a customer based on the specific food item or items that the customer orders. Such an automated dispenser would dispense the proper number of napkins for every order and eliminate human error and guesswork.